Foot support



A. AUGUSTA FOOT SUPPORT Dec. 12, 1933.

Filed July 30, 1932 Patented Dec. 12, 1933' 7 1 93 517 UNITED STATESPATENT oFFicE Application July 30, 1932. Serial No. 626,685

8 Claims. (01. spa-8.5)

This invention relates to a foot support for 'tion 14, conforming to thenormal contour of the use by those suffering from diseases or injuriesshoe sole and ending at 15 under the ball of the of themetatarsophalangeal joint, or of the bones foot, and beneath or slightlybehind the heads or joints of the phalanges anterior thereto. of themetatarsal bones; Both the top and bot- While a special shoe might beconstructed, tom edges of the front end of the support may embodying theprinciple of my invention, I prebe slightly curved, or both may bestraight, but fer to provide a support to be secured to the I prefer tohave the upper edge curved, as at 15, sole of an ordinary shoe. Thesupport conforms to accommodate it to the natural location of the to thenormal contour of a foot or shoe sole and bones, and the lower edge 17straight, as an aid extends from the rear of the foot forward'to a inWalking. The edges may be rounded off,'if

position beneath the heads of the metatarsal desired. bones. My supportholds the foot in substan- The support may be fastenedto the shoe bytially normal position, but in a plane substanany suitable fasteningmeans, the straps l6, tially higher than and parallel to the normalbeing shown for illustrative purposes only.

15 position. By theuse of my support the meta- In Figs. 2 and 3 the footsupport 10 is shown tarsophalangeal joint is supported at such a inproper place beneath a'shoe 21, and the dotted height that the user maywalk comfortably lines show the bones of a foot in normal posiwithoutfiexure of that joint or of the bones or ticn within the shoe. Thephalanges are indijoints anterior thereto. eated at 18, the metatarsalsat 19, and the 20 I am aware that supports of various types havemetatarsal heads at 20. It will be noted that been used to protect thefoot of the wearer in the support ends at the point 15 adjacent climbingladders, in shoveling, and to protect the the metatarsophalangeal joint,and preferably foot against heat and moisture. slightly to the rearthereof in a position to sup- 1 am also aware that arch supports arewell port the metatarsal heads 20. The foot and shoe '25 known and worneither inside or outside the are raised from the ground but areotherwise in shoe, the latter being exemplified in Patent No.substantially normal position. The height of 1,728,219, to J. A. Smith.the support at 15 raises the foot substantially I am also familiar withthe Thomas bar, as above the ground. The weight of the body is used infoot orthopedics, for the support of distributed evenly over the heel,arch and a por- 30 metatarsal bones. tion of the ball of the foot.

None of these known devices attains the re- In Walking, the heel andarch of the userare sult accomplished by my novel foot support,supported in normal position by the parts 12, 13 whereby the user'isenabled to walk in a suband 14 of the support, and the weight of thestantially normal manner and with normal cOmbody is pivoted about thepoint 17. The foot 35 fort, while substantially limiting or entirelypremay be held sufiiciently off th ground t perventing fiexure of thejoints at the metatarsal mit a normal flexure of the knee in walking andhead or anterior thereto. the corresponding downward movement of the ThefOllOWiIlg is a p fl Of my dev ce, 5 front portion of the foot with thetransmission shown in the drawing, and the essential features f littl orn movement t th phalanges 13 or 40 Of which are Summafizd in the Claims:the metatarsophalangeal joint 1819. I have In the drawing, 1 is ageneral pel'spectlve found that the thickness of the support at the viewof my support; Fig. 2 is an elevation showpoint 15 17 may be madeapproximately one support in P beneath a shoe while inch to give goodresults, but this dimension 3 is p1an vlew ti from below q may be variedwithout departing from the spirit 5 mg the support In position on ashoe. In Figs. and purpose of my invention e v an 7' port of Wood as itallows the user easily to 12: ggg 19 may be made, of any Sum change theshape to suit his individual case. 50 able material, but preferably ofwood. The sup- I 61mm: port is indicated as having a substantially planeA foot support extend-mg from the rear of lower surface 11, and an uppersurface, divided the T00?) a Point beneath the ball of the foot into aheel portion 12, a shoulder 13, adapted to and ending ad a nt t m tat rspha a e l rest against the breast of the heel of a shoe and jo nt of Elu ers O and d pp main- 55 to contact the arch of the sole, and a frontportaining the vfoot Substantially parallel to its normal position andapproximately one inch above the normal position at the said point.

2. A substantially rigid foot support extending from the rear of thefoot to a point beneath the ball of the foot, and ending adjacent themetatarsophalangeal joint of a users foot, and said support maintainingthe foot substantially parallel to its normal position and suflicientlyabove the surface walked upon to permit substantially normal flexure ofthe knee of the user when walking without the toes of said user beingbent by contact with said surface.

3. A foot support extending from the rear of the foot to a point beneaththe ball of thefoot and ending at the metatarsophalangeal joint of ausers foot, the support at the latter point maintaining the footsufliciently above thesur face walked upon to prevent fiexure of saidjoint when a substantially normal step is taken.

4. A foot support extending beneath the heel, arch and a portion of theball of the foot, said support ending at a point beneath the ball of thefoot adjacent the metatarsophalangeal joint of a users foot, and saidsupport at the latter point maintaining the foot sufficiently above thesurface walked upon to prevent appreciable fiexure of said joint when anormal step is taken.

5. A foot support extending beneath the heel, arch and a portion of theball of the foot, said support ending at a point beneath the anteriorheads of the metatarsal bones of a users foot and said supportmaintaining the foot parallel to and sufficiently above its normalwalking position to prevent contact of the users toes with the groundwhen a substantially normal step is taken.

.upon to prevent appreciable flexure of said joint.

7. A foot support adapted to be secured to the bottom of a shoe, saidsupport having a substantially plane lower surface and the upper surfacehaving a portion beneath the heel, a shoulder portion adapted to contactthe arch of the shoe, and a portion following the curve of the sole andending at a point beneath the metatarsophalangeal joint of a users foot,the support at the latter point being substantially-one inch thick.

8. A foot support comprising a substantially rigid integral memberhaving its upper surface conforming to the heel and sole of a humanfoot, said member ending beneath the ball of the foot, the front end ofsaid member extending transversely of the foot and having its upper edgecurved convexly forward and having its lower edge straight, and saidmember having lower surfaces beneath the heel and ball of the foot, saidlower surfaces lying in a common plane approximately one inch below theupper front edge of said member.

ALBERT AUGUSTA.

